Long Island Ducks
The Long Island Ducks are a professional baseball team based in Central Islip, New York, in the United States. The Ducks are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 2000 season, the Ducks have played their home games at Bethpage Ballpark, formerly known as Citibank Park. The "Ducks" name refers to Long Island's duck-farming heritage, which is further represented by the Big Duck ferrocement. The Big Duck is in Suffolk County, of which Central Islip is also located.Determining the Facts Reading 1: Representational Architecture, Roadside Attractions, National Park Service. The Ducks currently own the independent league baseball single-season attendance record of 443,142 fans. They reached this total in the summer of 2001, surpassing the previous record of 436,361 fans which the team had also set in 2000. The Long Island Ducks recorded their 2 millionth fan since the stadium opened in 2000. The Ducks reached the 3 million mark in attendance in September 2006. Bud Harrelson was key in founding the team. He started out as the Ducks first manager and currently owns part of the team. History The Long Island Ducks inaugural season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball was 2000, even though the Long Island area had waited for professional baseball for many years. The New York Mets and the New York Yankees have the territorial rights to keep an affiliated team, Major or Minor League, from coming within 75 miles of their respective ballparks. The last attempt to come within the territory was made by the Albany-Colonie Yankees when they tried to move to Suffolk County, home to the Ducks, but the Mets prevented the move. The Albany team later moved across the Long Island Sound to Norwich, Connecticut, where it became the Norwich Navigators. Baseball fans on Long Island have been very excited about the Ducks and have led the Atlantic League's attendance since their beginning. Despite their success at the gate, the Long Island Ducks have not had success on the field until their 2004 Atlantic League Championship season when they defeated the Camden Riversharks in a three-game sweep. After the Ducks' 2004 championship season, the Ducks participated in the Atlantic League playoffs for the next three seasons. Logos and uniforms The official colors of the Long Island Ducks are black, green, and orange. The primary logo features the "Ducks" wordmark in orange with black outline. The wordmark begins with a stylized, cartoon duck head in the form of a capital, cursive "D." The secondary logo is the webbed foot of a duck in orange with black outline. The Ducks wear caps produced by The Game Headwear and uniforms by Rawlings. The home caps are black throughout with the cap logo centered on the front. The cap logo is the stylized, cartoon duck head. The away caps are green with the duck head cap logo. The batting helmets are black with the webbed-foot logo. The home jersey is white with black pinstripes with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the front. The numbering on the jersey is primarily in green with white outline and black drop shadow. The away jerseys are grey with the "Long Island" cursive wordmark centered across in green with white and orange outline. The numbering is in green with white outline and orange drop shadow. The alternate is a sleeveless, green jersey with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the chest. The numbers are in orange with white drop shadow. Notable Ducks John Rocker In 2005, John Rocker signed with the Ducks in an attempt to revive his career. He asked New Yorkers to "bury the hatchet," claiming his willingness to play in Long Island proved he had matured since his controversial comments. Rocker was poorly received by the fans and ended up pitching with an 0-2 record and an ERA of 6.50. On June 25, 2005 Rocker announced in a statement that "After pitching for two months with the Long Island Ducks, the consistency required to pitch at the Major League level, and the consistency I demand from myself, are not where they should be. As a result, I have elected to take a step back and reevaluate the options available to me. I would like to thank the Long Island Ducks organization for the opportunity they've given me to help me reestablish myself as a Major League pitcher." José Offerman On August 14, 2007 José Offerman, playing for the Ducks in a game against the Bridgeport Bluefish in Bridgeport, homered in the first inning off of pitcher Matt Beech. In his second at-bat, Offerman was hit by a pitch, causing Offerman to become irate and charge the mound with his bat in hand. He hit Beech's hands with the bat, as well as hitting catcher John Nathans in the head. Nathans was taken out of the stadium on a stretcher, and Offerman was arrested and taken into custody. Quick facts :Founded: 1998 :Stadium: Citibank Park :Uniform Colors: Black hats and white jerseys are worn for home games, while green hats and grey jerseys are worn for road games. The alternate jersey is sleeveless and green with "Ducks" centered on the front. :Logo Design: The word "Ducks" in script in orange with black and green outline, and the stylized head of a duck inside the letter "d". The words "Long Island" are centered above the script in orange letters outlined in black. :Mascot: A duck named QuackerJack, wearing a Long Island Ducks cap and matching jersey. :Current ownership: Frank Boulton, Bud Harrelson, Tony Rosenthal :Playoff appearances (1): 2004 :Local Radio: WNYG-1440, 107.1 FM WLIR :Current Broadcasters: Chris King, David Weiss, Mike Solano :Current PA Announcer: Bullet Bob Ottone Current roster Retired numbers 42, Jackie Robinson, retired throughout baseball. References }} External links Official websites *Long Island Ducks *Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Blogs *Atlantic League Baseball *Atlantic League Independent Media *Ducks page at OurSports Central Category:Long Island Ducks Category:Atlantic League teams Category:Sports in Long Island [[Category:Baseball teams in New Y